The Flaming Mussolinis

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = The Flaming Mussolinis | image = | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | background = group_or_band | alias = | origin = [[Teesside]], England | genre = [[Alternative rock]], [[indie rock]], [[pop rock]] | years_active = {{start date|1984}}–{{end date|1988}} | label = [[Portrait Records|Portrait]], [[Epic Records|Epic]] | associated_acts = [[Basczax]], Jank Mamba, Zoom, Disraeli Gears | website =  | current_members = | past_members = *Alan Savage *Kit Haigh *Jeff Fogarty *Doug Maloney *[[Craig McClune]] }} '''The Flaming Mussolinis''' were a 1980s pop/rock band from [[Teesside]] who released two albums, and had a minor UK hit with "My Cleopatra".

==History== The band formed in 1984 in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, although various members had been in local [[Teesside]] (North-east England) bands since the late 1970s. The most notable of these bands was [[Basczax]]. They signed to [[CBS]] in-house label [[Portrait Records]] in 1985 and were tipped for big things. The band released five singles: "Swallow Glass", "My Cleopatra" (a minor UK hit at #79), "Masuka Dan", "Girl on a Train" and "Different Kind of Love". They also released two albums: ''Watching the Film'' (1986) and ''Charmed Life'' (1987). The band's song "Angels Fall Down" was a finalist in the [[World Popular Song Festival]] in 1986.<ref>"Song Fest Finalists Named", ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', 13 September 1986, p. 78</ref>

Critical coverage was mixed. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' touted them in 1986 as "a band with something new to say",<ref>Davis, Caris & Jones, Peter (1986) "New Artists: A Non-stop Parade of Ground-breaking Talent", ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', 28 June 1986, p. 16</ref> and ''Fanfare'' described ''Watching the Film'' as "good noise of the post-'87 boomlet: laid back, languid, and cleaner than most",<ref>''Fanfare'', vol. 12, Issues 1-2, p. 369</ref>

The band split up in 1988. Alan Savage later became a school teacher, while McClune found commercial success as a member of David Gray’s backing band.

==Members== *Alan Savage - vocals/guitar *Kit Haigh - guitar *Jeff Fogarty - saxophone and keyboards *Doug Maloney - bass guitar, keyboard programming, backing vocals *[[Craig McClune]] - drums

==Discography== ===Albums=== *''Watching the Film'' (1986), [[Portrait Records|Portrait]] *''Charmed Life'' (1987), [[Epic Records|Epic]]

===Singles=== *"Swallow Glass" (1985), Portrait *"My Cleopatra" (1985), Portrait - [[UK Singles Chart|UK]] No. 79<ref>"[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/23061/flaming-mussolinis/ The Flaming Mussolinis]", [[Official Charts Company]]. Retrieved 12 March 2016</ref> *"Masuka Dan" (1986), Portrait *"Different Kind of Love" (1987), Epic *"Girl on a Train" (1987), Epic

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaming Mussolinis}} [[Category:English alternative rock groups]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1984]] [[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1988]] [[Category:Epic Records artists]] [[Category:Musical groups from North East England]] [[Category:Musical groups from Teesside]]